Chevrolet Recall in Pattaya

[childintime]

I'm posting this merely to get a message across to anyone with a Chevrolet in Thailand. I am sorry that I cannot be more specific about the models affected. My husband has a Chevrolet Spin, bought earlier this year and only got his red plates exchanged for white ones about 6 weeks ago. His first 15,000 KM service was due so he drove there personally to make an appointment. They told him 8:00 am was the only available time. Unfortunately, he has a dive business here and due to work commitments he had to cancel the appointment - which he drove to Chevrolet in person to do. They made him another appointment for the following week, same time (only time available they said). We did think this was strange as a service generally takes just an hour and you normally have a choice of times.

He finally got the car to his 3rd appointment a few days ago. They told him to collect the car at 5pm. He questioned why it was going to take so long and he just got a blank stare in response. However, he did not accept this and demanded to speak to someone in authority. While waiting for this person to come, he saw his name on the board outside the service area with the word "RECALL" next to it. Again, he asked and was told it was 'change oil and filter'. He pursued and was finally told that the car had a recall situation - the gasoline tank was faulty and may explode! You can imagine the shock to hear this! We feel that Chevrolet should have informed us about the recall. They had several opportunities to tell us, but never did and then tried to deceive us by saying it was an all day job for a simple service.

AND... I may add that after collecting the car, it had about 100 KM worth of gasoline missing from the tank!!!!

If you have a Chevrolet, I suggest you check with your local center if you model is affected or not as they certainly won't contact you to tell you about it.

[David48]

^^ Nice post.

I searched for the facts and they are ...

Chevrolet recalls Spin

The Nation
July 4, 2014 1:00 am

Chevrolet has announced that it will recall the 2014 Chevrolet Spin in Thailand due to faulty fuel tank and fuse box components.

According to Chevrolet Sales (Thailand), the recall concerns the following components: a potentially faulty fuel tank ventilation nipple in an estimated 2,221 Spins, which will require a fuel tank change; and a potentially faulty seal on a fuse box in an estimated 1,976 Spins, which can be resolved by replacing the foam strip.

No safety incidents have been reported in relation to these issues.

"We will be contacting customers, who can count on the support of their nearest Chevrolet dealer to have [the faulty] parts replaced," said Marcos A Purty, managing director, GM Thailand and Chevrolet Sales Thailand. "Customer satisfaction is the top priority for Chevrolet in Thailand."

Chevrolet will replace the parts free of charge at any of its dealership service centres. The process will take about two hours. If customers have any questions or concerns, they can contact the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Centre via telephone number 1734. The Thai recall announcement follows a huge 8.5-million-vehicle recall in the United States on June 30 for faulty ignition switches. During the first half of this year, GM recalled as many as 29 million vehicles - about as many vehicles as it sold during the past eight years.

The Nation

[hkt83100]

I got my Toyota 2 months ago, and I am quite happy with my choice. The last one was an Opel Astra Caravan, which lasted 15 years and clocked 250,000 kms. Now performing duty in a temple as a donation. But that was no GM construction...

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Here is some more info on this:

Chevrolet Recalls 23,552 Captiva SUVs In Thailand

General Motors’ ongoing recalls have affected vehicles all over the globe, not just in North America.

The latest safety measure being taken is for an issue with Theta-based Captiva SUVs in Thailand. The recall comes soon after the company recalled 2,000 Chevrolet Spin mini SUVs for faulty fuel tank ventilation nipples and a faulty fuse box seal in the country.

The problem: The cars may be equipped with a seatbelt assembly that was not tightened enough during the manufacturing process.

Vehicles affected: 2011-2014 Chevrolet Captiva SUVs.

Number of vehicles being recalled: 23,532 Captivas in Thailand are affected.

The fix: This recall won’t cost Chevrolet any money in parts, as the bolts on the seatbelt assembly simply need to be inspected and tightened if they are found to be too loose. Dealers will contact owners notifying them of the recall. Chevrolet says the fix will only take a few minutes and will be completed free of charge.

Source: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/07/chevrolet-recalls-23552-captiva-suvs-in-thailand/

[Aussieroaming]

That is how they fixed the problem....they siphoned of the fuel

[childintime]

^^ Nice post.

I searched for the facts and they are ...

Chevrolet recalls Spin

The Nation

July 4, 2014 1:00 am

Chevrolet has announced that it will recall the 2014 Chevrolet Spin in Thailand due to faulty fuel tank and fuse box components.

According to Chevrolet Sales (Thailand), the recall concerns the following components: a potentially faulty fuel tank ventilation nipple in an estimated 2,221 Spins, which will require a fuel tank change; and a potentially faulty seal on a fuse box in an estimated 1,976 Spins, which can be resolved by replacing the foam strip.

No safety incidents have been reported in relation to these issues.

"We will be contacting customers, who can count on the support of their nearest Chevrolet dealer to have [the faulty] parts replaced," said Marcos A Purty, managing director, GM Thailand and Chevrolet Sales Thailand. "Customer satisfaction is the top priority for Chevrolet in Thailand."

Chevrolet will replace the parts free of charge at any of its dealership service centres. The process will take about two hours. If customers have any questions or concerns, they can contact the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Centre via telephone number 1734. The Thai recall announcement follows a huge 8.5-million-vehicle recall in the United States on June 30 for faulty ignition switches. During the first half of this year, GM recalled as many as 29 million vehicles - about as many vehicles as it sold during the past eight years.

The Nation

Thank you for the facts. It is a pity that they failed to contact us as they told The Nation that they would. And, it's also a pity that Chevrolet themselves couldn't give us this info about the actual faults. It seems to me that they were just relying on customers to bring in their vehicles for a service and do the quick repairs without evening informing the owner. Customer satisfaction is certainly not on the top of their list here in Thailand. Chevrolet will not be on list of choices for buying a new car in the future.

Edited November 22, 2014 by childintime

[wvavin]

Please don't place your expectation too high. This is Thailand, a long that never learn or listen. Everything here is FACE. Any dealership of Chevrolet that started to call customers for this"RECALL" would feel they are an idiot because the sales would be affected. To the extreme end, they might start to call customers if just one of the car is exploded!

[SOTIRIOS]

...........who's to say Chevrolet failed to announce the recall......and not the dealer.......or dealer association.......for whatever reason...

.......it seems like the dealer was withholding the information the way you explained it...

[luckyman]

Very usefull and helpfull post, however driving 100 KM with a Spin takes just 6 or 7 litres of gasoline or roughly 200 - 250 baht

[thaimelody]

Bought my Chev Cruze a little over two years ago in Lampang. Had a gear recall within the first year of having the car. After 2 years the rubber both electronic keys had disintegrated. Took the keys into the dealership only to be told I would need to have the whole locking system replaced for over 5000 baht. Two years and both keys!!! Wrote a letter to the head office. Was told over the phone "can't claim" My letter had asked for comments and had not requested a claim. So one letter and no written response. I had one last go, sending another letter... call on the phone again (can't Chev write letters?). We can give you five percent off.

I will not buy another car from chev. The company cares little or nothing about its customers.

Please do not buy Chev. You have been warned.

[stat088]

I bought my Captiva about 14 months ago. Early this year we had some issue with lights on the dash and we took it to the dealership. It was put on the back of a truck and sent to Bangkok(about) 600kms. They had to replace wiring for the computer system and Chev were not letting the dealerships fix the problem.

Also the dealership called us about a seatbelt issue a few months later. Apparently the belts in the Captiva are not properly bolted to the floor.

[lj cm]

A friend bought the 2011 model Cruze and she have had many problems with it.

The first 1 1/2 year it was for repair 10 times. Mainly gearbox problems and oil leak, but also electrical malfunction. Every time it was repaired, the problems returned after a month or so.

She tried to sell it after 2 years, but no used car dealer wanted to buy it.

The Chevrolet dealer has now extended the guaranty from 3 to 4 years.

[thaimelody]

Forgot about the electrical problem I had with my cruze. Factory fitted a wire which was too small. Result = turn the heater and radio and complete electrical shut down. Lemon of all lemons!!

[timber]

Yes, once Chevrolet

sells the car customer relationships seem to suffer.

[wilfrid lussier]

Thank u for ur post

This is a very good exanple on How Thai follow instruction from manifacture advice.

This is why they will never obtain certification to operate nuclear energy.

Remember,they r the best,never take advice from farang industry.

And never u will Win .They r always right!

[cherrylee2512]

had my chev sonic for 8 months now no problems as of yet

[JacChang]

Phone calls cost 3 baht. It will make them go bankrupt, how can they afford to call customers.

[NeverSure]

TiT. This would not happen in the US where the ownership of GM and therefore Chevy is. There are too many consumer protection laws.

You would get a letter and a phone call from the parent company. It would go into a database. If you didn't bring it in within a certain amount of time you would get another letter and phone call.

They would come and get the car if you couldn't bring it in.

They would loan you a car while they had yours if it was going to take more than an hour or two.

But the US is the land of consumer protection AND the land of lawsuits. I know a guy who a number of years ago had his family killed by an exploding gas tank when their car was rear-ended. He wasn't in the car. He got an award of US$10 million dollars for the loss of his family due to negligence of the manufacturer.

This kind of award is called punitive damages. It's designed to send a message to anyone watching not to do the same thing. It's an amount well beyond what would be considered actual damages.

It doesn't take many of those to wake a company up.

[kannot]

Bought my Chev Cruze a little over two years ago in Lampang. Had a gear recall within the first year of having the car. After 2 years the rubber both electronic keys had disintegrated. Took the keys into the dealership only to be told I would need to have the whole locking system replaced for over 5000 baht. Two years and both keys!!! Wrote a letter to the head office. Was told over the phone "can't claim" My letter had asked for comments and had not requested a claim. So one letter and no written response. I had one last go, sending another letter... call on the phone again (can't Chev write letters?). We can give you five percent off.

I will not buy another car from chev. The company cares little or nothing about its customers.

Please do not buy Chev. You have been warned.

When I had a small problem I wrote to HONDA JAPAN about a Thai made car, I got a letter back full of apology and then a phone call from Honda Thailand requesting if they could come and see me in person to apologise.

[thaimelody]

next car might just be a honda then. A letter should get a response. It is rude that I didn't get one from chev. Interesting that the company is called chev (sales) Thailand. A company that focuses on selling rather than customer care or after sales service!

[whiteman]

Off subject I did the same with my new lazy boy soffa bought in Bankok shukumvit after 2 months of use the recliner wents clonk and couldnt be reset back to the sitting position.

So I called bangkok and asked to come and fix it after 2 weeks some one arrived and said oh we have to take it to our factory which by the way was not far from my home in Chonburi but it would take 2 months to fix it due to the floods around that time.

Any how I had had enough with this crap so I emailed there head office in the USA and gave them the total rundown of the times and dates of the event. Boy did that get some action the sofa arrived with in the next 4 days along with a call from there top guy in Thailand who also sent me a very nice lazy boy real leather carrier bag which is still used to day.

Also they put the right heavy duty bearings in my sofa this time and 3 years later no problems (touch wood )

So you see go to the top and make them see what goes on over here.

Edited November 23, 2014 by whiteman

[desktop]

Hey folks, TIT, a third world country. you are not in your home country. You will find this situation at all dealerships. Not all dealers all the time, mind you, but most dealers most of the time.

I have a Captiva, always take it to the dealer for scheduled service. They apply the recall fixes, I pick it up - no problems. There is really no need to know every single detail about everything they fix. You know the recalls have been applied - that's enough. Again TIT, get over yourself or you'll be constantly complaining.

To write off a complete manufacturer because of the way a dealership acts in Thailand is nuts.

[kannot]

Hey folks, TIT, a third world country. you are not in your home country. You will find this situation at all dealerships. Not all dealers all the time, mind you, but most dealers most of the time.

I have a Captiva, always take it to the dealer for scheduled service. They apply the recall fixes, I pick it up - no problems. There is really no need to know every single detail about everything they fix. You know the recalls have been applied - that's enough. Again TIT, get over yourself or you'll be constantly complaining.

To write off a complete manufacturer because of the way a dealership acts in Thailand is nuts.

But YOU just said you find this at all dealerships

[Greer]

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Bought my Chev Cruze a little over two years ago in Lampang. Had a gear recall within the first year of having the car. After 2 years the rubber both electronic keys had disintegrated. Took the keys into the dealership only to be told I would need to have the whole locking system replaced for over 5000 baht. Two years and both keys!!! Wrote a letter to the head office. Was told over the phone "can't claim" My letter had asked for comments and had not requested a claim. So one letter and no written response. I had one last go, sending another letter... call on the phone again (can't Chev write letters?). We can give you five percent off.

I will not buy another car from chev. The company cares little or nothing about its customers.

Please do not buy Chev. You have been warned.

A few years ago I was visiting Sydney, Australia. I had hired a car from Avis - it turned out to be a Cruze... by the time I had driven around half way to the city from the airport (a few kilometers), I had decided to get rid of it - what a piece of junk - it drove badly, had no power, and was truly gutless.

When I took it to Avis and told them it was crap, the guy agreed, and told me that almost all the people who had hired one, ended up either taking it back to exchange, or had complained loudly about it being such a dreadful vehicle.

I happened to mention to some colleagues at the office in Sydney about this, and one of my friends told me that he had ended up with one that he too had taken back as it was so bad.

The result is that I would never consider even hiring one again, never mind buying one...

[thaimelody]

Hey folks, TIT, a third world country. you are not in your home country. You will find this situation at all dealerships. Not all dealers all the time, mind you, but most dealers most of the time.

I have a Captiva, always take it to the dealer for scheduled service. They apply the recall fixes, I pick it up - no problems. There is really no need to know every single detail about everything they fix. You know the recalls have been applied - that's enough. Again TIT, get over yourself or you'll be constantly complaining.

To write off a complete manufacturer because of the way a dealership acts in Thailand is nuts.

I sent two letters to the head of country and didn't get a written response. Fair to write them off yet. To have a culture from the top down of a total lack of respect for the customer. Write, wrote, written off off off

[BSJ]

Although the Chev pick-up is a good looking unit I can tell you right now my new pick-up (when I get it) will be a Isuzu or Nissan!

[TPI]

I've had my sonic for over 2 years......apart from it eating fuel we've had no problems at all!

[Anthony5]

TiT. This would not happen in the US where the ownership of GM and therefore Chevy is.

Wasn't it GM US that was in the news lately because they ignored to replace a switch which costed only a few $ and which caused many deaths for that reason.

I think that is also one of the main reason why it is now called " new GM" isn't it?

[childintime]

I just had a reply from Chevrolet regarding the gasoline that they took out of the existing tank before it was replaced:

"Regarding your residual fuel in the tank before the dealer had changed the tank, we will coordinate with the dealer for checking the practice. Actually in term of the technical practicing, whenever we remove and change any of the liquid system components we always avoid to back fill all the residual liquids back into the new system or components which we don’t ensure that whether the residual liquids are in good condition or pure enough to suit to the new environment. It will again, high possibility, create the new improper problem on top. Then, we have to trade-off something for the other better thing.

Sorry for any inconvenience may occur, hopefully you can enjoy driving with Chevy product."

So, basically what they are saying as they take away all the fuel when they change the tanks - they do not put it back as it may be impure! My question is what the hell do they do with all the fuel that they collect. I know too well they won't discard it - I've been here almost 12 years to understand how they work. Had they informed us that they were going to change the fuel tank and not replace any fuel that is was in it, we would not have filled it up! To me, this is indirect theft! And, what are they going to do about it... absolutely nothing. It is unfortunate that everyone tires of banging their heads against a brick wall when it comes to trying to stand up for any kind of rights we may or may not have. I sincerely believe that this is the reason why Thailand will never move forward, as we accept the losing face excuse as a bonafide reason not to deliver something which would be a normal expectation in a civilized society.

[transam]

I just had a reply from Chevrolet regarding the gasoline that they took out of the existing tank before it was replaced:

"Regarding your residual fuel in the tank before the dealer had changed the tank, we will coordinate with the dealer for checking the practice. Actually in term of the technical practicing, whenever we remove and change any of the liquid system components we always avoid to back fill all the residual liquids back into the new system or components which we don’t ensure that whether the residual liquids are in good condition or pure enough to suit to the new environment. It will again, high possibility, create the new improper problem on top. Then, we have to trade-off something for the other better thing.

Sorry for any inconvenience may occur, hopefully you can enjoy driving with Chevy product."

So, basically what they are saying as they take away all the fuel when they change the tanks - they do not put it back as it may be impure! My question is what the hell do they do with all the fuel that they collect. I know too well they won't discard it - I've been here almost 12 years to understand how they work. Had they informed us that they were going to change the fuel tank and not replace any fuel that is was in it, we would not have filled it up! To me, this is indirect theft! And, what are they going to do about it... absolutely nothing. It is unfortunate that everyone tires of banging their heads against a brick wall when it comes to trying to stand up for any kind of rights we may or may not have. I sincerely believe that this is the reason why Thailand will never move forward, as we accept the losing face excuse as a bonafide reason not to deliver something which would be a normal expectation in a civilized society.

They are correct..................